I've always been writing stuff. Stuff, nonsense, rubbish, poetry, prose; a whole bunch of words on paper scattered over desks, floors, drawers and covering a growing mountain of years. Now I'm going to write stuff on here and you can read it if you like.

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Tuesday, 3 July 2007

All along the watchtower...

I was sitting in the kitchen one bright and sunny day a month or so ago, on a rare occasion when I get a day to myself, when I heard someone coming through the garden gate. Unusual, I thought cause we don't often get visitors just popping in. It was the Jehovah's witnesses and I was surprised to see them. An man of retired age and a girl of perhaps around 12 years old. He introduced himself and showed me his copy of The Watchtower. On the cover was a made up photograph of a perfect landscape that included many features- waterfalls, mountain ranges, forests, pastures and populated by wildlife and happy smiling people; everything from the sublime to the picturesque.

A real view, from my garden.

“Wouldn't you like the world to look like this?” he asked.

“No” I answered. He raised an eyebrow. I pointed to the view from our garden wall. “I like the world to look like this and that's more beautiful than the picture you're showing me.”

“It is very beautiful.” he agreed.

“Not only very beautiful,” I added, “but this is also real.”

Bless him. I could see how his opening gambit might work in the west end of Newcastle where I previously lived, but not out here.